What do you think?
Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America's First Women Lawyers
"I read these stories of the first generation of women lawyers with awe and gratitude. We are all in their debt—and in Jill Norgren's, too, for recovering this forgotten history."—Linda Greenhouse, Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence and Joseph M. Goldstein Senior Fellow, Yale Law School
In Rebels at the Bar, prize-winning legal historian Jill Norgren recounts the life stories of a small group of nineteenth century women who were among the first female attorneys in the United States. Beginning in the late 1860s, these determined rebels pursued the radical ambition of entering the then all-male profession of law. They were motivated by a love of learning. They believed in fair play and equal opportunity. They desired recognition as professionals and the ability to earn a good living. Through a biographical approach, Norgen presents the common struggles of eight women first to train and to qualify as attorneys, then to practice their hard-won professional privilege. Their story is one of nerve, frustration, and courage. This first generation practiced civil and criminal law, solo and in partnership. The women wrote extensively and lobbied on the major issues of the day, but the professional opportunities open to them had limits. They never had the opportunity to wear the black robes of a judge. They were refused entry into the lucrative practices of corporate and railroad law. Although male lawyers filled legislatures and the Foreign Service, presidents refused to appoint these early women lawyers to diplomatic offices and the public refused to elect them to legislatures.
Rebels at the Bar expands our understanding of both women's rights and the history of the legal profession in the nineteenth century. It focuses on the female renegades who trained in law and then, like men, fought considerable odds to create successful professional lives. In this engaging and beautifully written book, Norgren shares her subjects' faith in the art of the possible. In so doing, she ensures their place in history.
Jill Norgren is Professor Emerita of Political Science at John Jay College, and the Graduate Center of The City University of New York. She is the award winning author of many articles and books, including Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President ( NYU Press, 2007); The Cherokee Cases; and American Cultural Pluralism and Law (with Serena Nanda).
In Rebels at the Bar, prize-winning legal historian Jill Norgren recounts the life stories of a small group of nineteenth century women who were among the first female attorneys in the United States. Beginning in the late 1860s, these determined rebels pursued the radical ambition of entering the then all-male profession of law. They were motivated by a love of learning. They believed in fair play and equal opportunity. They desired recognition as professionals and the ability to earn a good living. Through a biographical approach, Norgen presents the common struggles of eight women first to train and to qualify as attorneys, then to practice their hard-won professional privilege. Their story is one of nerve, frustration, and courage. This first generation practiced civil and criminal law, solo and in partnership. The women wrote extensively and lobbied on the major issues of the day, but the professional opportunities open to them had limits. They never had the opportunity to wear the black robes of a judge. They were refused entry into the lucrative practices of corporate and railroad law. Although male lawyers filled legislatures and the Foreign Service, presidents refused to appoint these early women lawyers to diplomatic offices and the public refused to elect them to legislatures.
Rebels at the Bar expands our understanding of both women's rights and the history of the legal profession in the nineteenth century. It focuses on the female renegades who trained in law and then, like men, fought considerable odds to create successful professional lives. In this engaging and beautifully written book, Norgren shares her subjects' faith in the art of the possible. In so doing, she ensures their place in history.
Jill Norgren is Professor Emerita of Political Science at John Jay College, and the Graduate Center of The City University of New York. She is the award winning author of many articles and books, including Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President ( NYU Press, 2007); The Cherokee Cases; and American Cultural Pluralism and Law (with Serena Nanda).
286 pages, Hardcover
First published March 11, 2013
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 18, 2019
I had no idea about the women covered in this book and the way they all worked, spoke up, and even got laws changed so that women could study and practice law. Very interesting read.
June 27, 2024
There is some value in this work which curates a selection of important biographies (and sources) and the book does a good job of framing its bios within the changing landscape of the United States and the legal profession. I mostly read this for the chapter on Clara Standridge Foltz and that chapter for me lacked any significant new insight or analysis compared to other sources.
December 6, 2013
Norgren's book focuses on eight women, born between 1830 and 1860, who entered the legal profession between 1868 and 1880. They were among the first few dozen women to do so.
The "separate spheres" doctrine was going strong, and most of the women had to fight hard to get in. It was hard to find mentors to read law, it was hard to get into law schools, it was hard to gain bar admission. Some did find mentors--judges and lawyers who gave them a helping hand. Some opened up law schools through litigation or legislative lobbying (or both).
The eight women profiled, while all white and Christian, were diverse in other ways: big cities, small towns; East, Northeast, West; single, married, divorced, widowed; outspoken, retiring.
The stories are very interesting. The subtitle engages in a bit of puffery when it says they're forgotten, though. I was familiar with at least some of them, and there's a growing literature about this generation of female lawyers. See, e.g.,
America's First Woman Lawyer, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President, The Invisible Bar: The Woman Lawyer in America, 1638 to the Present, Sisters In Law: Women Lawyers In Modern American History —as well as many journal articles.
The "separate spheres" doctrine was going strong, and most of the women had to fight hard to get in. It was hard to find mentors to read law, it was hard to get into law schools, it was hard to gain bar admission. Some did find mentors--judges and lawyers who gave them a helping hand. Some opened up law schools through litigation or legislative lobbying (or both).
The eight women profiled, while all white and Christian, were diverse in other ways: big cities, small towns; East, Northeast, West; single, married, divorced, widowed; outspoken, retiring.
The stories are very interesting. The subtitle engages in a bit of puffery when it says they're forgotten, though. I was familiar with at least some of them, and there's a growing literature about this generation of female lawyers. See, e.g.,
America's First Woman Lawyer, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President, The Invisible Bar: The Woman Lawyer in America, 1638 to the Present, Sisters In Law: Women Lawyers In Modern American History —as well as many journal articles.
March 12, 2018
The struggle of women to practice law in the US from the 1860s onwards told through the eyes of eight women. These trailblazers of the early days of the 1860s to 1880s, were from differed walks of life (that was both white and Christian).
The only criticism is that the stories become slightly repetitive - it would possibly made for a better single story with the eight women featured as examples.
The only criticism is that the stories become slightly repetitive - it would possibly made for a better single story with the eight women featured as examples.
October 28, 2019
This book tells the history of 8 women who fought to practice the law. All were white and Christian, though they had different backgrounds and stories in other ways. At times depressing, at times inspirational, it was a little hard to finish. While these are important stories, they might be better told in a different format. Photos and other graphic elements would help hold readers' interest, too.
I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
I read a digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
May 9, 2023
A glimpse of history that was eye-opening. Most of us realize that women have had a rough road trying to achieve parity in the workplace, but the legal profession was especially resistant to change. In an era (late 1800's through mid 1900) when men felt threatened by smart competent women, (oh, wait, some still do) the legal profession was mostly a closed shop. Citing excuses as jive as "damaging to family life" and "too emotional and illogical for the profession" females were barred from attending law school, taking bar exams and representing clients in court. The pioneers who bucked the system and changed the face of the profession are chronicled in this series of essays. These were kick-ass women who bucked long odds to achieve recognition and respect in the courtroom and in law offices. They opened the door for thousands of their gender in the following years.
December 30, 2016
This book wasn't great. It's got an interesting premise. It's stories about women in the 1870's and 1880's who were pioneering to become lawyers at a time that it was distinctly a man's profession. However, the stories blurred together. It was just eight women who were interested in becoming lawyers, the struggles of getting into law schools and joining the Bar, and then nothing. The stories were all extremely similar so it was hard to think of it as eight women, but just one story that had different names attached to it.
However, there was some interesting bits of history and I learned a little bit. So it was okay. Also, I did find a typo and that excited me way more then it should.
However, there was some interesting bits of history and I learned a little bit. So it was okay. Also, I did find a typo and that excited me way more then it should.
July 15, 2018
To be honest, I only was able to get through half of this book. It is written in a really dry way, with many of the biographies feeling repetitive. The topic is interesting, but it felt like lazy storytelling to me by keeping all stories self-contained, rather than looking at a synthesized history of women and law.
February 16, 2022
This was a very interesting book, and if you want an interesting and simultaneously infuriating look at the sexism in the law both then and now, it will do excellently. And anyone who doesn't think there's sexism in the law, or who thinks it's really not a problem now, should read this book.
For more extensive commentary, please go to posts #7 and #8 in my running reading challenge list: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
For more extensive commentary, please go to posts #7 and #8 in my running reading challenge list: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
May 4, 2024
August 2013. Received an eARC, the only note I left myself was "downloaded from NetGalley but didn't get more than a quarter of the way through. These are all great books. I was really interested in all these titles. It is unfortunate that, during the window when I could have read these, I also had books that were even more interesting."
March 5, 2018
History of women lawyers in 19th century America -- right up my alley!
November 15, 2013
As a lawyer, I really appreciated this look at the first female lawyers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews